Thanks to the collectivization of transgenders and observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) annually on November 20 since 1999 as a day 'to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia and to draw attention to the continued violence endured by the transgender community' has drawn the attention of the mainstream society towards transgenders and their rights.

The
observance, founded by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender woman, is
going to be observed in over 200 cities across the globe
including Delhi. Often, the observance is marked by reading of the
names of those who lost their lives during the previous year
along with actions, such as candlelight vigils, art shows, food
drives, film screenings, and marches, state the organizers.

In
Focus

Despite
the commitment to human rights by most nations,
it is matter of great concern the biased mindsets of common
people continues to perpetuation of transphobic violence specially
against trans-women. Of late, the observant of the event have
been going for intersectional approach to TDoR observance
and transgender activism.

According
to scholar Sarah Lamble, the other ways to recount and confront
violence against transgenders should also be explored by moving
'from sympathy to responsibility, from complicity to
reflexivity, from witnessing to action. It is not enough to
simply honour the memory of the dead - we must transform the
practices of the living'.